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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Dr. Melissa Wehler, serves as the Dean of Humanities and Sciences at Central Penn College reports, "“I’m sorry to bother you, but…” was the opening line of every email I
received in the first week of this semester."

Photo: Faculty Focus

This line was usually
followed by nothing that would actually bother me: a question about the
week’s materials, a link to an interesting resource, a discussion about a
potential research topic, and the like. This was all despite my many
attempts to ensure that students did not feel like they were imposing
whenever they contacted me: a pre-semester introductory email, a video
welcoming them to the course, my biography and teaching philosophy,
virtual office hours, and multiple reminders about my contact
information. Yet, with all of my entreaties to reach out, I was still
dealing with the real issues of isolation, fear, and frustration that
results in studentsleaving their online courses.
To combat these feelings, professors—myself included—have to
deliberately, consistently, and relentlessly work to build
student-faculty and student-student relationships in online courses.As educators, we know that building community in the online environment increases the likelihood of student success.
Finding ways to concretize something as ephemeral as “a sense of
belonging” can be difficult; however, here are five places where you can
start:Read more... Source: Faculty Focus

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About Me

Hello, my name is Helge Scherlund and I am the Education Editor and Online Educator of this personal weblog and the founder of eLearning • Computer-Mediated Communication Center.
I have an education in the teaching adults and adult learning from Roskilde University, with Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and Human Resource Development (HRD) as specially studied subjects. I am the author of several articles and publications about the use of decision support tools, e-learning and computer-mediated communication. I am a member of The Danish Mathematical Society (DMF), The Danish Society for Theoretical Statistics (DSTS) and an individual member of the European Mathematical Society (EMS). Note: Comments published here are purely my own and do not reflect those of my current or future employers or other organizations.